Scholasticism

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The term scholasticism (from the Latin schola, "school") refers
properly both to the doctrine and method of teaching in the
medieval European schools and to their successive revivals to
the present day. As a method, scholasticism involves (1) the
close, detailed reading (lectio) of a particular book recognized
as a great or authoritative work of human or divine origin--for
example, Aristotle in logic, Euclid in geometry, Cicero in
rhetoric, Avicenna and Galen in medicine, the Bible in theology--
and (2) the open discussion (disputatio) in strict logical form
of a relevant question (quaestio) arising from the text. As a
doctrine, scholasticism refers to the kind of philosophy, theology,
medicine, and law (canon and civil) taught by the faculties
responsible for these disciplines. These four faculties
constituted the medieval universities that began to be organized
in the 12th century, beginning in Bologna, Paris, and Oxford.

The most important faculties, however, were arts (philosophy) and
theology, and the term scholasticism is usually understood in the
context of those disciplines.

The basic philosophy of the faculty of arts was Aristotelian
because the greatest and most authoritative books in philosophy
were believed to be Aristotle's. Aristotle, however, was
interpreted differently by different professors depending on
the commentaries used, notably those of "the Commentator,"
Averroes; the Christian Neoplatonist, Saint Augustine; or the
pagan Neoplatonist, Avicenna.

Similarly in theology, the Bible was variously interpreted
depending on the kind of philosophy used to understand the
Christian faith systematically. Among the numerous ways of
systematizing the faith, certain schools of theology stand out
as particularly notable and viable throughout the Middle Ages and
to the present day. The most important of these scholastic
theologies were Thomism, developed from the teaching
of Saint Thomas Aquinas; Augustinism, developed from Saint
Augustine; Scotism, from John Duns Scotus; Nominalism, from
William of Occam; and Suarazianism, formulated by Francisco
Suarez, a 16th-century Jesuit who tried to synthesize various
schools. The basic principle underlying all forms of scholasticism
was rational consistency with the Christian faith as taught in
the Bible and as understood by the living Church of Rome through
the writings of the ancient Greek and Latin Fathers, the rulings
of the ecumenical councils, the liturgy, and the continuing
teaching and practice of the church.

Scholasticism is generally divided into three periods: medieval
scholasticism, extending from Boethius (5th-6th century) to
the 16th century, with its Golden Age in the 13th century;
"second scholasticism," beginning in the 16th century with
Thomas de Vio Cajetan, Conrad Koellin, Peter Crokert,
Francesco de Vittoria, and Francisco Suarez; and
neoscholasticism, beginning in the early 19th century,
given impetus by the encyclical Aeterni Patris (1879) of
Pope Leo XIII, and continuing at least until the Second
Vatican Council (1962-65).

Medieval Scholasticism

Boethius is generally called "the first scholastic" because
he provided the first Latin translations of Aristotle's logic and
other basic works used in the schools of the early Middle Ages
as a prerequisite to understanding the Bible and the Latin Church
Fathers and to becoming an educated person. In this early period,
however, the dominant philosophical influence was Platonism
or NeoPlatonism, particularly as it was reflected in the work
of Saint Augustine. Augustine formulated the maxim "Understand
so that you may believe, believe so that you may understand"--an
approach that lay at the heart of scholasticism--and urged the
use of dialectics in examining Christian doctrine. His
principles were applied with rigor by such early scholastics
as John Scotus Erigena, Saint Anselm, Peter Abelard, Alan of
Lille, and numerous teachers in the cathedral schools of Laon,
Chartres, Paris, Poitiers, and the abbey school of Saint-
Victor in Paris.

In a stricter sense, scholasticism began with the Sentences
(c.1150) of Peter Lombard, the Decretum (c.1150) of Gratian, and
the flood of new Latin translations of classical philosophers,
including all of Aristotle, made from Greek and Arabic throughout
the second half of the 12th century. Assimilation of this new
learning took place in the universities of the 13th century
through the genius of the Dominicans Saint Albertus Magnus and
his great pupil Thomas Aquinas, whose Summa Theologicae is
widely regarded as the pinnacle of scholastic theology; and
of the Franciscans Saint Bonaventure, John Duns Scotus, and
William of Occam (early 14th century), who challenged the
Dominican school.

With the multiplication of universities between the 14th and 16th
centuries came a decline in the standard of teaching and the
caliber of teachers, and a "logicism" or formalism of thought
that aroused the animosity of a new humanism that arose mainly
outside university circles. The term scholasticism then began to
be used in a derogatory sense.

Second Scholasticism

The Protestant Reformation in the 16th century stimulated a revival
of theology by a return to the language of the Bible, the Fathers
of the Church, and the great scholastics of the 13th century. This
second scholasticism was aided by the founding (1540) of the
Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) by Saint Ignatius Loyola with the
approval of Pope Paul III. Foremost among the Jesuit scholastics
of this period were Saint Robert Bellarmine, Francisco Suarez, and
Gabriel Vazquez. Due largely to the scientific revolution of the
17th century (beginning with Galileo), the quest for philosophic
originality (beginning with Rene Descartes), the rise of
nationalism and colonization, and the splintering of Protestant
religions, second scholasticism declined. Some forms of schoolbook
scholasticism, however, remained for a time in Catholic countries,
particularly Spain and Latin America. By the 18th century,
scholasticism had again become a derogatory term, especially
in non-Catholic countries.

Neoscholasticism

Early in the 19th century in Italy certain Catholic professors
of philosophy began to see in Aquinas's teaching basic principles
that might resolve the problems associated with Kantian and
Hegelian Idealism, British Empiricism, current Rationalism,
Skepticism, and Liberalism. By 1850, neo-Thomism or neoscholasticism
began to be heard through the writings of Gaetano Sanseverino in
Naples, Matteo Liberatore in Rome, and the Jesuit periodical
Civilita Cattolica founded in Naples in 1850. These efforts were
brought to a head by Josef Kleutgen in Germany, Henri LaCordaire
in France, Zeferino Gonzales in the Philippines and Spain, and
Tommaso Zigliara and Pope Leo XIII in Italy. The charter of this
neo-Thomism was Leo's Aeterni Patris (1879). Through subsequent
encyclicals, Leo exemplified the applicability of Thomistic ideas
to contemporary problems. All subsequent popes, including John
Paul II, reiterated the need for a Christian philosophy based on
Thomistic principles.

The rise of Modernism in the Roman Catholic church after 1900,
however, resulted in a multiplicity of ecclesiastical condemnations,
a legislated Thomism, and a failure to realize the hopes of Leo
XIII. Despite this and two world wars, much fruitful work was
accomplished by outstanding scholars, numerous periodicals, and
editors of historical texts, including the critical edition of the
works of Aquinas (the Leonine Edition). Among the great number of
modern scholars who called themselves Thomists (but not
neo-Thomists or neoscholastics) were Jacques Maritain, Etienne
Gilson, Martin Grabmann, and Yves Congar.

For reasons still not fully understood, a decided reaction against
Aquinas and neoscholasticism occurred in the 1960s. Some have
erroneously associated this with the Second Vatican Council,
which turned people's minds toward social rather than doctrinal
issues. Aquinas was, however, the only scholastic doctor mentioned
by name in all the conciliar documents. The real reasons for the
decline of neoscholasticism must be sought in the wider
sociological and psychological concerns of contemporary society.

James A. Weisheipl

Bibliography
Cassidy, Frank P., Molders of the Medieval Mind
(1944; repr., 1966); Congar, Yves, A History of Theology (1968);
Gilson, Etienne, The Christian Philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas
(1957) and History of Christian Philosophy in the Middle Ages
(1955); McInerny, R. M., ed., New Themes in Christian Philosophy
(1968); Pieper, Josef, Scholasticism: Personalities and Problems
of Medieval Philosophy, trans. by Richard and Clara Winston (1960);
Smalley, Beryl, The Becket Conflict and the Schools: A Study of
Intellectuals in Politics (1973); Weinberg, J. R., A Short History
of Medieval Philosophy (1964).

The individual articles presented here were generally first published
in the early 1980s. This subject presentation was first placed
on the Internet in May 1997.

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